Uppur power project on track

Land acquisition for Uppur power station to begin

The Rs 10,000 crore project to set up the 1600 MW (2x800) Uppur thermal power station picked up pace with the district administration submitting the final land plan schedule to the government.

Giving details of the progress of the project, Collector K.Nanthakumar said on Monday that proposals have been sent to the government to alienate about 300 acres of government land and acquire about 500 acres of private land for the project.

He said after identifying the lands, the district administration has sent a final land plan schedule to the government for transferring the 300 acres of government land to the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) and for getting administrative sanction to acquire the private lands.

The government is expected to give the administrative sanction and provide staff, including two Tahsildars, in the next couple of weeks, after which the process of acquiring 500 acres of private land in Uppur, Valamayur and Thirupalaikudi on the east coast will begin, the Collector said.

The district administration did not anticipate any problem in acquiring the lands as the local people had not raised any objection to the project, he said.

There were only demands for higher compensation, land as compensation for the acquired land and employment in the power station, he added.

Public hearing

A public hearing will be held in September in Uppur to brief the local people about the project, he said.

The hearing will be attended by the Chief Engineer from TANGEDCO, representatives from the Ministries concerned, the pollution control board, the Collector and other stakeholders, he added.